One Last Stop Before Home
by The Mind Of The Dragon
Summary: One shot? An attack on Konoha brings truths to the surface that neither man could have dreamed to ease leave a comment and let me know what you though ;)


_I wrote this for a very dear friend, Lysambre, who has been my somewhat constant companion almost everyday for some years now, even though we are very many miles apart. We both recently found the wondrous Naruto and fell in love with the characters and have been enjoying it for a few weeks now._  
_Not normally the kind of thing I would write, I wrote it for her as I thought she might like it. I prefer the angst and the pain where Lysambre enjoys a good old romance of sorts. I've never written anything like this before and this could be seen as pre-slash? So forgive any errors as like I say, I am a relatively new Naruto fan and terms might be a bit off and such. I hope you enjoy it regardless :) _  
_And yes, SGA Unforeseen has already been updated (see new chapter 8 ;))_

* * *

The sound of the village alarms pierced the cold morning air amid a loud thunder like booming that rocked throughout the village. Iruka listened intently, hearing that it was coming closer and closer to the academy and his primary thought was for the safety of the children in his care. He immediately called them to the front of the class to put into action a plan that he had worked in for just such an occasion. There was great risk with the plan as it consumed vast amounts of his chakra, but he would not sit idly by and allow the children to come to any harm.

He had made them practice the first stages of the maneuver many times so that they understood exactly what they had to do should they need to get from the school quickly, not that the children were privy to what they were actually practicing. Based on Hiraishin no Jutsu, it was a special technique that he had modified and created himself in secret, to protect the children under his care, at any time. He had long ago chosen the safe places, marked them for use and had hidden a message in the classroom. He had set it up that the maneuver itself would trigger the message to become clear for anyone searching for them should Iruka have implemented the plan. It was testament to Iruka's love for the children he taught, that he didn't even trust another soul with the safe house locations. No one, except perhaps the silver haired ninja that he admired so much. Even though he never told him about this secret, Iruka had put in place a second hidden message, made specifically for Kakashi, so that he would know where he had transported the children to, should anything ever go wrong and he himself was unable to bring them back to the village.

Of course, this was the very first time he had ever fully carried out the maneuver, and despite all the planning and training drills, the plan went from perfection to utter ruin in a single devastating blow. As the children gathered at the front of the room, he readied them for transportation while calming any high emotions they might feel. But the children were strong as he had always instilled in them the pride of being a prepared ninja, taught them to be ready at the drop of a hat for anything that might befall them, and ensured that they knew he believed in them. It was with pride that he looked over his students, seeing the determination and near calmness in each of their young faces as they all joined hands in preparation for transportation. But then the ceiling above them was ripped open and three strange men descended into the room, blasting deadly force towards them and it was all that Iruka could do to protect the children, standing firmly between them and the attackers, shielding their young lives with a barrier created from his own chakra until the blasts dissipated. But the act itself left him open to attack and a forced gasp left his lips as he felt the sword slip neatly into his stomach with terrible ease as the attacker ordered him to hand over the children. Staggering backwards, his body painfully sliding off the sword that had run him through, he knew that despite the fact they cried out for their beloved teachers safety, the children stood strong and in position, ready for Iruka to save them. He preformed the hand seals to transport them as quickly as he could, his own chakra used as the power to move them all away from the danger and they simply vanished before their attackers eyes.

o0o0o0o0o

The winter had struck swiftly and to a degree rarely seen in Konoha. It had brought with it bad weather of such depressing quality that the streets were often found relatively empty, save for the usual lookouts and hidden guards. It was on the coldest, most dismal day of the year that the attack had come, some unknown assailant triggering the village wards, alerting everyone to their presence. Even if the wards had not detected the foreign movement, the thunderous noise of the initial attack certainly would have alerted the entire village to the intruders. There were emergency signals alerting the place over, it appeared that there wasn't a single part of the village that was not under threat and every villager was alert and moving within seconds of the first wards shrill vibration.

When Kakashi first jumped from his window, it was to a scene of utter chaos. People ran in every direction as powerful blasts of energy tore at the very fabric of their surroundings. Houses were being ripped open as if they were made of paper and he knew immediately that whoever was doing this, was searching for something. The Anbu were everywhere, moving with terrible speed through the village, their striking masks flashing only for a second as they hunted and moved on. People were moving all around him, simply doing their best to keep out of harms way and help anyone who fell from the attack.

As quickly as it had started, the attack stopped and an eerie silence spread throughout the village. Every single person halted, shocked by the sudden stillness. Then the silence was broken with a shrill cry, a lone voice tearing through the bitter air with terrible alarm.

"Help! Collapse at the academy!" The voice cried.

It very quickly became clear that the entire attack had been a distraction from the true intent of the invaders, they had indeed wanted the young of the village. While his first thought should have been for the children, Kakashi instead found that it was their dark haired teacher that he thought of first. Something stirred in his chest as he raced towards the school, joined in speed by Gai and Naruto as they moved between the mass movement of worried villagers. Dust surrounded the area of the academy and while most of the building seemed intact, there was one part of it that had been devastated. The roof had collapsed, one wall had been blown out and the desks and school paraphernalia from that particular classroom was strewn amongst rubble. Kakashi's throat went dry when he realised it was Iruka's classroom that had been destroyed and he found he could barely breathe much less begin the search for injured. But anger quickly replaced his fear and he joined the others as they dug into the rubble for any sign of survivors. Naruto helped an injured ninja to the hospital as two Anbu approached Kakashi and Gai to inform them that they had followed the intruders through the collapsed roof as Iruka and the children had vanished, the attackers then taking immediate flight before the lethal killers could stop them. A hard coldness settled in the pit of Kakashi's stomach as he considered the idea that the invaders plan had been carried out to fruition and had stolen the children away, but what of Iruka?

"Kakashi, here." Gai's voice rumbled, grabbing Kakashi's attention with the concern that laced his words. "There's blood." He said, pointing to a worrying patch of darkness that made Kakashi's own blood run cold.

He knelt beside it, sure of whose blood it was as he would know that chakra scent anywhere. It belonged to the missing teacher, to the only person who had ever captured the tall ninja's heart and Kakashi despaired. Panic clouded his mind as the impact of what he was looking at hit home. Ikura was injured, and he had no idea where he was or how to find him.

o0o0o0o0o0o

He could hear sobbing, specifically children crying and he fought against a pervading darkness that seemed intent of holding him in limbo. He couldn't remember anything, his mind so sluggish and he wondered why he would be asleep if he had children in his care. He pushed through the thick haze, fighting to open his eyes while wondering why the hell he felt so tired. His body seemed to take forever to respond but he began to stir quicker when he heard his name being called by a small terrified voice.

"Iruka-sensei!" The child cried shrilly as she saw the mans eyes open. "There is too much sensei! I can't stop it!"

Iruka opened his eyes further to find himself lying on his back, little Kinsa, his youngest and most promising student, kneeling beside him, her eyes red from crying, her pale face streaked with tears.

"What can't you stop Kinsa chan?" He muttered, trying to figure out why he felt so weak.

"The blood!" She cried and it was then that he noted the child's small hands, pressed tightly to his stomach, an alarming amount of blood pulsing through her small fingers from the wound beneath. Then the pain hit and he muffled a scream lest he scare the already terrified children who he could now see were sat on the dusty floor of the small wooden safe house.

"Ah Kinsa chan, don't look so worried little one, I am fine." He gasped out the lie and though Kinsa looked somewhat relieved, he could still see doubt in her eyes.

Pulling a field dressing from his flak vest pocket, he placed the special chakra infused healing pad over the wound in his stomach, instantly feeling the slowing of blood loss, and the added chakra supplemented his own failing supply. He was almost out of strength, he knew it. The transportation had robbed him of so much of his vital energy and that was something he had expected. But the added strain of the sword wound was not something he had taken into consideration when he devised the plan to save the ten young children in his class. It had never entered his mind that he might have to do the maneuver while injured and especially as badly as he currently was.

He slowly pulled himself to lean his back against the wall of what was little more than a small wooden hut, attempting to put on a brave face for the children who tried so hard to look brave for their teacher, all of them failing miserably.

"Ok children, You know the drill, role call." He said with as steady a voice as he could muster, listening as each child called out their names, thankful to know that he had manage to save every one of them. "Now, who can tell me what it is that you should do once you reach the safe house?" He asked, hoping to steer their minds from their fear while keeping himself alert as he could. As the children raised their hands, eager to impress him, Iruka said a silent prayer that Kakashi would make it in time.

o0o0o0o0o0o

Naruto returned from the hospital and told the others that although no one had died, so many were injured and some were still unaccounted for. He stood quietly looking over the devastation, his eyes squinting perplexedly before he suddenly bounded over the rubble to reach for something.

"There's a message!" Naruto exclaimed as he pulled a shining note from what remained of the desk where Iruka used to sit. He hurriedly read it out to the surrounding people, telling them of the teachers undisclosed procedure to keep the future ninjas of Konoha safe. Everyone smiled and breathed in relief, voicing high praise of the much respected, devoted teacher. But Kakashi had not forgotten the blood they had found and while the others thanked the Gods, he could not help but succumb to the desperate fear rising inside him.

"The message says he will return with the children when coast is clear. Why has he not come back yet?" Naruto asked, puzzled.

"He's injured." Kakashi managed to squeeze the words from his tight throat, noticing Naruto tensing at the statement.

"Injured? How do you know?" He asked confused.

"We found blood." Gai said, "And by the amount, well, we need to find them quickly."

"Then why are we standing here?! We should be searching!" Naruto replied heatedly.

"We have no idea where they are." He heard his voice breaking and hated it, but Kakashi was was scared, more scared than he had ever been before. As he went to turn from the others, he felt a hand on his shoulder squeezing it gently.

"He will be okay, we will find them." Gai said as he stared into his rivals dark eye, and Kakashi was momentarily shocked by what he thought he saw in Gai's face.

Understanding? Acceptance? Gai chuckled at the look that descended over Kakashi's features and drew closer to him.

"You think that your life long rival would not be privy to your one very obvious weakness? Your infatuation betrays you Kakashi." Gai whispered conspiratorially before pulling away again.

Kakashi turned away then, his left eye weeping beneath it's cover. Raising his forehead protector to wipe the sudden tears away, his red eye caught sight of a strange haze, a patch of mismatched fuzziness on the top of Iruka's broken desk. Reaching for the area, his chakra reacted with whatever it was as he felt a small tug of energy pulled from his fingertips onto the haze and it immediately disappeared to reveal another letter taped to the desk, hidden in plain sight.

He pulled it free and ripped it open, eager to see what it would be that Iruka had left for only him to find. He smiled as he read the words written in Iraku's perfectly neat handwriting, smooth and elegant lettering that gave him all he needed to know.

_One last stop before home._ That was all it said, but it was all that Kakashi needed.

Everyone in the village was busy with the continuing search and rescue but Naruto, Gai and Shikamaru agreed to follow Kakashi and rescue Iruka and the children. He needed their strength in case of attack, needed people he trusted to help him get everyone safely home, so Kakashi raced ahead of them, leading the way.

_Wait for me Iruka..._

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

His time was almost out and he knew it. The icy coldness that had began to spread through his body terrified him as the bleeding had started anew. The chakra bandage had failed, it's potency drained. He didn't have the strength to reach for another and knew it would do very little good anyway. His chakra was spent and not even the tiny boost from a field dressing was going to save him now.

The children were snoozing, tired from their ordeal and he was thankful that they were unaware of how very near the end was for him. He didn't want to die hearing their cries of sorrow, but was content to pass into oblivion knowing that they slept safely because of his actions.

_Where are you Kakashi?_

It suddenly struck him how very stupid he had been, to only give their location to a man he barely had the courage to interact with. For some reason he had been so very sure it would be the Copy Ninja that would come to his aid, their aid, yet he had no real valid reason to think that he would. Of course he knew Kakashi would do anything for the children, but why he thought he might do anything for him was now beyond him. Deep down he realised that he wanted it to be Kakashi to find them and needed it to be him if only to allow Iruka to say the words he had kept to himself for so very long, and to say goodbye.

He was sure he wasn't making it back to the village alive this time, and all he wished for was one last time to look upon that pale beautiful face and tell the man with the mismatched eyes the things he should have years ago. But there was no reason for Kakashi to think of Iruka as anything more than the village teacher, he himself had made sure of it. He had hidden his feelings and buried the secret of his heart, for how could the famous, great, copy ninja Hatake Kakashi love a simple, chūnin teacher? He was nothing special, hell his greatest strength was caring for the youth of the village, he was no match for the ex-Anbu Jōnin who was one of the most renowned men in the entire ninja world. Knowing that he would never be in the same league as him, Iruka had simply locked his heart away and never acted upon his feelings. Now though, knowing that his life was ending, dying alone as his beloved students slept, all he wanted was to let Kakashi know what he had meant to him. He wanted to let him know how he made him feel. How when their eyes met across the street, his stomach would flip and heart race. He wanted to tell him about how he went weak at the knees when Kakashi stood close to him, how he made him feel like a schoolboy with his first crush. He wanted to tell him how terribly empty his life had been without him in it, and how much it hurt to have never been able to hold him .

He breathed out a long and ragged, weary breath. This is it, he thought, feeling what was left of his energy trickling away, using those last few moments of life to take a final look towards the children. He had done all he could and had kept them safe, he was content to die if only for that reason. No longer able to move, his eyes began to close as his head drooped down and with his final breath he voiced the words he longed to tell that beautiful assassin, that clever killer, that silver haired man whose face he had never fully seen.

"I loved you...Kakashi..."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

They were closing in now, nearing the place Iruka had taken the children. The message he had left for Kakashi had been something only he would understand. It referred to the night that he and Iruka were on their way home from a long mission away, wearily deciding to stop for a rest at the very farthest abandoned outpost of Konoha, the final refuge on the long road home.

"One last stop before home, eh Kakashi-senpai?" Iruka had said, finding some saké hidden in the outpost and pouring them some.

Kakashi thought it might have been that night that he had fallen in love with the dark haired chūnin. They spent a few hours resting from their long and tiring journey before getting back onto the long trek home, chatting and laughing, enjoying each others company. It was after they had returned from that mission that Kakashi had began to moon over the teacher with the kind eyes and gentle smile. He would purposely be somewhere he knew Iruka would be passing, or deliberately find a reason to be standing near him if only to be close to that man he could never have. He had thought his movements had been perfectly covert, but obviously Gai had seen right through them for what they were; excuses to be near the man he had fallen in love with one night over a bottle of saké.

As they sped through the trees, Kakashi prayed that they were going to make it on time. The thought of never seeing those kind dark eyes, eyes that he always liked to imagine held a look of longing in them, a look he had become accustomed to believing, left him bereft and he could not imagine a future in which Umino Iruka was not part of his life. Even if it was only to pass him every day and want him to no end, it would be better than never seeing him again.

What the thought of losing Iruka did to him, struck him as odd, for why he would ever think the teacher would ever reciprocate his feelings was beyond him. He had walked streets just for a chance to bump into him and with the exception of a happy-to-see-you twinkle in the mans perfect eyes, there was no reason to expect that Iruka felt the same for him in return. There was never a sign that Iruka might share his feelings, and so Kakashi had closed his heart and hidden his, but apparently not quite well enough.

The outpost came into view and Kakashi felt his stomach churn at the thought of what they might find. Naruto and Shikamaru would take charge of the children, even though Naruto whined that he wanted to see Iruka, he knew that the children would need his help. Gai said that he would stand watch in case the village attackers had somehow followed them, now that they were sure it had been the children that had been at risk. Their plan in place, they arrived at the old wooden shack and Kakashi entered first, silent and barely breathing, never daring to hope.

The smell of the place had not changed and he was pulled back to that saké filled night in a second of thought. But the charged memory was pulled from his mind when his eyes fell upon the still, pale body of Umino Iruka, and Kakashi's heart broke into pieces. A small yelp escaped his lips before he could stop it, alerting the sleepy children to his presence. As they crowded around him, saying his name, smiling up at him with tired eyes and dirty faces, Kakashi could barely move nor raise a smile for them. He simply stared at the still form slumped against the wall a few feet from him. Hearing the children's voices, Naruto and Shikamaru entered and ushered them out into the fresh cold air. Naruto hesitated in the doorway, trembling as his wet eyes stared sadly at Iruka before Shikamaru gently pulled him outside.

Frozen to the spot, Kakashi knew he didn't want to see Iruka like this, knew that he never wanted his final sight of that soulful happy man to be this drained husk before him. He felt something tug at his sleeve and looked down into the wide tired eyes of Iruka's youngest student, as Kinsa smiled up at him.

"Kakashi-sensei, I did what mummy told me I should do when hope was fading."

"And what is that Kinsa-chan?" He replied in a monotonic unenthused voice.

"Used my ability to share my chakra with Iruka-sensei until help arrived." She said, smiling through a yawn before she walked out of the door to join the others.

He had no idea that little Kinsa's talents lay in chakra exchange healing, and her words had barely registered when he moved quickly to kneel beside the deathly still man. Sure enough, Iruka was breathing, shallow and slow, but he was alive. He pulled Iruka into his arms, smoothing his now unknotted hair from his face as he whispered his name over and over, hoping for a response. He winced at the sight of the wound that still oozed some blood, and tried to push his thoughts and feelings for this man from his mind and treat him as a fallen comrade. His hands shook as he pulled a fresh, special Anbu grade field dressing from his pocket and pushed it firmly over the wound, forcing a pained moan from Iruka which made Kakashi shudder.

"Hold on Iruka, I've got you now." He whispered to the man who weakly stirred in his arms, surprised when a single dark eye cracked open to look at him.

"Kakashi...it's you..."

"Save your strength Iruka-sensei, you're not out of the woods yet." He said, unable to stop the hidden smile that spread over his lips at being able to see those dark shining eyes again. He finally had the chance to hold Iruka, care for him, and he hoped that he would get the chance again.

"I...I..."

"Please Iruka sensei, save your strength."

"Love...you..."

Kakashi stared into that one opened eye, shellshocked and dumbstruck, feeling sure he had misheard the words. But Iruka raised a hand, painfully slow to first touch then stroke Kakashi's face with cold, soft fingers.

"I...love you...Kakashi..." Iruka repeated, finally saying the words he had been longing to say before falling unconscious and leaving Kakashi too astonished to even move, too confused to reply.

It was the familiar gentle touch of a hand on his shoulder that brought him back to his senses, and he turned his head to see Gai watching him, his face kind and knowing.

"I knew of his weakness too Kakashi. You will only find complete strength together, in each other, forged in love."

He helped Kakashi lift Iruka from the dusty floor, steadying the still shocked man, then clapped his hands loudly and became Gai the showman once more.

"Come my eternal rival, lets race the youthful children home and get this young man the attention he deserves. For today Umino Iruka is a hero of the village, and as such he will be treated like a king!"

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

He lazily drifted in a void of darkness so encompassing that he was sure he was dead. He didn't mind so much, he had saved the children, and had finally been able to tell the love of his life the truth. Seeing Kakashi's face, being held in his arms, he could almost believe that the man had seemed sad at his passing. He almost believed that the great Kakashi, had felt some kind of grief at his death. It was mere fantasy and he knew it, but he had told him the truth and that was all that had mattered.

He felt a tug at his hand, a warmth covering it, fingers smoothing the skin in regular soothing motions. It felt nice and he wondered who should take the time to hold his hand as he floated through this pathway to the afterlife. But should he not be seeing his lost loved ones by now? His long gone mother and father? His students that were taken from them so tragically through the years? Then it struck him that perhaps, he had not died, and the thought astounded him.

"Come on Iruka, come back to me." He heard the softly whispered worry filled words and felt them heat the centre of his being. The words and the gentle pressure on his hand pulled him from the darkness, and he fought to open his eyes against sudden brightness that shone through his eyelids. Someone shifted beside him, taking his hand tighter and pressing it to their lips. He felt a movement on the bed he now knew he lay upon as if someone had moved their elbows upon it.

"That's it Iruka, open your eyes." The words were breathed from covered lips that brushed against the back of his hand.

He didn't want to deny that soft, urging voice what it wanted and when his eyes finally opened, it was to look into the steady gaze of Hatake Kakashi, who sat so close, holding his hand tightly against his covered mouth, his silver hair untied from the protector and falling softly around his face. For some moments they simply stared at one and other, neither of them entirely sure what to say, the moment only broken when one solitary tear fell from Kakashi's red eye, tracking down the scar that lined his cheek to wet the mask that covered his lower face.

"Kakashi-senpai?" Iruka croaked, wondering what the hell was happening, why this man of all men was sitting at his bedside waiting for him to waken and crying tears of joy when he did.

"I think we can dispense of formalities Iruka, you and I are of equal standing."

Iruka smiled, not quite knowing what to make of the man before him.

"I...we, almost lost you. You idiot of a man." Kakashi said, wiping his eye on his shoulder, still gripping Iruka's hand tightly in his own. "But your quick thinking and action, saved the children from a kidnapping plot against the village." He shifted in his seat, pulling closer to Iruka, moving their hands to his chest. "I was so scared, the thought of losing you..."

"What are you saying Kakashi?" Iruka was stunned at what he thought he could see on Kakashi's face, what he was sure he could see in the mans odd eyes and he wanted to believe what his head and heart was screaming at him, but he couldn't allow himself to believe it for fear it would crush him.

Kakashi lifted a hand to stroke Iruka's hair as he took a deep breath and sighed it out slowly. "Do you realise what would have happened to me had you died?" He said, his words catching in his throat as his chest hitched. "I would have died myself." he finally whispered, and the intensity of his gaze was staggering. "I have loved you from afar for too long my friend, and if you would have me, I would gladly spend the rest of my life with you."

Iruka was stunned, for here sat the man that meant more to him than all others, freely admitting that he felt the same way as he himself did, proposing a future together that Iruka had only ever dreamed of.

He pulled his hand from Kakashi's, raising it up to the pale mans face, his tanned fingers tracing that terrible scar to then tug gently at the soft cloth mask he had never seen leave Kakashi's face. For the tiniest of moments, Kakashi froze and Iruka could see the uncertainty in his eyes as they searched his own for some kind of reassurance, then he saw him relax as his heavy lidded eyes dropped in acquiesce and so he continued to pull the mask down slowly, a frisson of excitement flowing through his body.

"Hello there handsome." Iruka breathed, happy to finally see the face of the man he had loved for so long.

Kakashi smiled and it was as if heaven itself had descended around them as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to Iruka's, kissing him deeply, lovingly.

Neither of them noticed the movement just outside the door to Iruka's hospital room, as Gai turned to leave the two men alone. He was happy to have borne witness to the blossoming of life's greatest gift, delighted to know that his rival, would finally know the love and acceptance that Gai had wished for him for so very long.


End file.
